Educators and students worldwide will celebrate Earth Day 2016 on April 22 with classroom activities, experiments, and investigations exploring how our world works - and those in the know will be tapping the wealth of education resources available through Earth Science Week.

Although Earth Science Week 2016 will be celebrated this October, the program offers education materials, information, and tools throughout the year. This year, for example, Earth Science Week provides education tools highlighting the theme of "Our Shared Geoheritage." Geoheritage is the collection of natural wonders, landforms, and resources that have formed over eons and come to this generation to manage, use, and conserve effectively.

"Geoheritage awareness is essential for all citizens of the planet, who are the 21st-century inheritors, managers, and protectors of a vast wealth of irreplaceable natural treasures, billions of years in the making," says Geoff Camphire, AGI's Manager of Outreach. "Because Earth Science Week raises awareness of the vital importance of the geosciences and stewardship of the planet, the program's aims are perfectly aligned with those of educators and students celebrating Earth Day."

If you'll be in Washington, D.C., this weekend, you are invited to join the staff of Earth Science Week and other AGI geoscientists at the 4th USA Science & Engineering Festival, taking place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on April 16-17, 2016.

Once again, leading science and engineering organizations will offer free events and presentations promoting awareness of science. More than 350,000 attendees are celebrate science at the Expo, engage in activities with some of the biggest names in STEM, hear stories of inspiration and courage, and rock out to science during stage show performances. While having fun, participants also can obtain information about scholarships, internships, jobs, and more.

Visit Booth 3532 for AGI and Earth Science Week! AGI, founder and organizer of Earth Science Week, will be one of many groups representing the Earth sciences at the festival's Science Expo. For more information, seehttp://www.usasciencefestival.org .

Last year's Earth Science Week celebration was a huge success. The program reached more than 50 million people. Individuals in all 50 states and over seven countries participated. The program website received over 540,000 page views. New partners joined the effort, new resources were introduced, and news of the event was carried by outlets ranging from The New York Times, Forbes, and TIME for Kids to NBC, ABC, and CBS.

Please see the Earth Science Week 2015 Highlights Report for details on last year's success stories - and ideas on how you can participate this year. To continually improve Earth Science Week, AGI annually tracks the program's impact, compiles new clippings, and commissions an independent external evaluation. To view the full report on Earth Science Week 2015, please seehttp://www.earthsciweek.org/highlights .

For example, check out NRCS's soil education website ( http://soils.usda.gov/education/ ), where teachers can dig up a treasury of resources designed for both science educators and K-12 students. Also, teachers can order the "Dig In! Hands-On Soil Investigations" book. Dig in when you're ready!

Earth Science Week participants know that the program provides educational toolkits perfect for leading instruction on timely topics like energy and climate. Four kits are now on sale for a limited time:

Each kit contains dozens of items ranging from informational brochures and posters to activity booklets and disks. Select kits are on sale for $6.00 each. This price includes Library Rate shipping to U.S. addresses via the U.S. Postal Service, allowing 2-3 weeks for delivery.

Partners in Resource Education (PRE), an Earth Science Week partner, provides programs and activities to get young people excited about the geoscience of conservation. Focusing on national resource priorities such as pollinators, wetlands, oceans, invasive species, endangered species, fire, and climate change, PRE teaches people about sustaining and safeguarding living resources in their own backyards.

PRE is a consortium of seven federal agencies: Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, National Park Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Environmental Protection Agency. By combining staffs and resources, the agencies educate young people, introduce them to natural resource careers, and cultivate the next generation of land and water stewards.

PRE's signature project, Hands on the Land, connects students, teachers, and parents to public lands and waterways. Education specialists work closely with teachers to develop programs that meet state standards and engage students in hands-on activities. Students to take part in environmental monitoring and other activities through distance learning and the project website (http://www.handsontheland.org/ ).

****************************Find New Ways to Ensure'No Child Left Inside'****************************

Any day can be "No Child Left Inside" Day - a time for outdoor activities allowing young people to experience Earth science firsthand. And the NCLI Day Guide now offers lots of learning activities to help you do just that!

This free online guide provides everything you need to start planning your own NCLI Day event, including activities designed specifically for elementary, middle, and high school students.

Begin now to plan your NCLI Day event for Tuesday, October 11, during Earth Science Week 2016, when educators and young people nationwide will be wading into creeks, climbing hills, and searching the skies to learn Earth science. Or plan your own NCLI Day whenever it's most convenient for you!

AGI's "Why Earth Science" video is now available for free viewing online on YouTube and TeacherTube. For an exciting introduction to the geosciences, you can't do better than this six-minute clip, featuring eye-popping cinematography and computer-animation highlights from AGI's "Faces of Earth" mini-series on The Science Channel.

Looking for teaching resources? Check out a page called "Freebies for Science Teachers" on the National Science Teachers Association website.

Updated periodically, this searchable "array of free resources for you and your classroom" frequently features online links to publications, CD-ROMs, DVDs, videos, kits, and other materials for Earth science education. For more, go tohttp://www.nsta.org/publications/freebies.aspx?lid=tnavhp .

****************************The American Geosciences Institute is a nonprofit federation of geoscientific and professional associations that represents more than 250,000 geologists, geophysicists and other earth scientists. Founded in 1948, AGI provides information services to geoscientists, serves as a voice of shared interests in the profession, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education, and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role the geosciences play in society's use of resources, resiliency to natural hazards, and interaction with the environment. For contact information, please visithttp://www.earthsciweek.org/contact .